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Hayashibara Megumi

Hayashibara Megumi (林原めぐみ) is a Japanese popanison singer and voice actress. She is signed under Star Child management and releases music under KING RECORDS. Over the course of a twenty year career, she has become one of Japan's most popular seiyuu having over 236 roles credited to her name, and she has won Animage's most popular seiyuu award twelve times.

Information

Hayashibara Megumi has wanted to become a seiyuu since she was little. In elemetary school she became inspired by Ikeda Akiko's role in the animeGalaxy Express 999. Right after graduating from high school Hayashibara started nursing school. While going to nursing school, Hayashibara came across an ad at a local bookstore for open audition with Art's Vision (a seiyuu management company). She impressed the judges and was offered a deal.

In 1986, Hayashibara Megumi started her voice acting training at Arts Vision's acting school and talent agency. Durning this time she was still studying to be a registered nurse, her original career choice. Her debut as a seiyuu was in the anime adaption to Takahashi Rumiko's Maison Ikkoku, where she played a number of minor character roles.

Over the next couple years, Hayashibara continued to only play minor roles in anime. Her first major role wasn't until 1989's Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, where she voiced pilot Christina 'Chris' MacKenzie. It was during this role that Hayashibara sang her first song, "Yoake no Shooting Star" (which was later released on her WHATEVER album). Later that year she did one of her most popular roles as the female version of Saotome Ranma in Takahashi Rumiko's Ranma ½. After this she was offered more leading roles, with her next being Alfred in Alfred J. Kwak. Not only did she voiced the main character she also sang the opening and closing theme songs which were released on her debut single, "Yakusoku da yo".

With her increasing popularity, Hayashibara deciced to branch out and do more music. Her second single, "Pulse" was released in 1990 under the Futurelandrecord label. The single was a flop, only peaking at #92 on the Oricon chart. Hayashibara then left the label and signed with KING RECORDS. March of 1991, she released her fourth single "Nijiiro no Sneaker" and her debut album, Half and, Half with her new record label.

Hayashibara was then again asked if she would like to work on Takada Yuzo's next project, Blue Seed. She agreed and voiced the main character Fujimiya Momiji, and sang the ending theme song. She released a single for the song, "Touch and Go!!" which peaked on the Oricon at #37.

Not long after the start of Slayers, Hayashibara was offered another major role. She was offered the role of Lime in Akahori Satoru's Saber Marionette J (she had previously contributed in the anime adaption of his series Bakuretsu Hunters). This series became another long running role, and the anime lasted two seasons and released a short OVA, all which Hayashibara sang the themes for.

After the end of Slayers Hayashibara was once again offered several leading roles. In 1998 she went on to be the lead in the animeLost Universe (which was from the author of Slayers). Later that year she once again played the voice of Takada Yuzo's character Natsume Atsuko in the series All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku DASH!. Once again she sang the opening and ending themes and released them as the single, "A HOUSE CAT", which reached #6 on the Oricon chart.

Hayashibara was married on 1998.05.30. She first entered her name into the family registry of a fellow company employee on April 1st. She had stated that the two had been dating for the last five years. On the wedding day at Toshima Hall in Tokyo, there was a public recording of Hayashibara's Tokyo Boogie Night radio show.

In 2000, Hayashibara voiced Urashima Haruka from Love Hina. Even though she wasn't voicing the role of the lead character, she still sang the theme song. "Sakura Saku", the theme song, was released on 2000.05.24 and reached #7 on the Oricon chart.

It was in 2001 that Hayashibara took part in another long running series. She was offered a role in the anime adaption of the Weekly Jumpmanga, Shaman King. In the series she voiced the main character's love interest, Kyoyama Anna. She sang all of the theme songs for the series and released them on three singles: "Over Soul", "feel weel", and "brave heart". She was also part of the singing group P.P.S during the same year, releasing a single for the Japanese dub of the cartoon Powerpuff Girls.

After this point Hayashibara started working less. In 2003 she only released two singles and a year later she released her eleventh album, center color. After this Hayashibara didn't release any solo material for two years.

On January 10th 2004, Hayashibara announced that she was pregnant with her first child on her radio show.

As of 2006, it seems Hayashibara has slowing been working towards a comeback. That year she released the single "Meet again" and followed up in 2007 with the single "A Happy Life", which was the lead-in single for her twelfth album, Plain.

Hayashibara has been active in the recent Shin Seiki Evangelion works. She sang the song "Shuuketsu no Sono e", which was used as the theme to the CR New Age Evangelion pachinko machine. This single also marks the first time since 2003 that Hayashibara has released two singles during the same year.

Trivia

Hayashibara Megumi is a certified Registered Nurse. She trained to be a nurse during the same time which she trained to be a seiyuu.

At an event at which Hayashibara was the main guest, she used her nurse's training when a man who also attended became ill. She was the only one in the room with a medical background.

She has said that after voice acting she might open up an aroma therapy store.

Hayashibara has sung every theme song for all of the Slayers series including TV series, movies, OAVs, and video games.

Hayashibara was one of the leading artists which created the third seiyuu wave.

Hayashibara is the best selling seiyuupop singer in Japan and she holds many records. She has sold over 3,670,693 copies of her releases (which is over 2 million more than 2nd best selling). Her bertemu album was the first seiyuu album to chart in the Oricon top 3, and Iravati is the best selling album from a seiyuu. The single "Give a reason" is the second best selling single from a seiyuu.